Month: January 2014

Expiration date on my beauty products? Not something that everyone thinks about, but eventually they all expire. Using expired products won’t make you sick, but it can cause break outs, irritation, or they just won’t work.

What you do to your skin before you are 20 will determine what your skin will look like 40’s and beyond. SUNSCREEN!!!!! Always use a SPF 30 or higher, don’t lay out for hours at a time. Ask yourself- do you want tan skin now or flawless skin later?

Now is a great time to start a basic skin care regimen. All you need is to cleanse and moisturize both morning and night.

No squeezing pimples! This can cause scaring that you will have forever (insert ‘Sandlot’ voice).

Never go to bed with make-up on. Always wash it off!

20’s

If you had teen acne, it should be cleared up by mid 20’s or earlier.

You will start to see more balance and more even complexion, enjoy your skin because it will probably be the best of your life!

Start adding steps and products to your skin care routine. Now is the time to create good skin care habits. Don’t wait until you see skin problems.

Use an eye cream at night, exfoliate 2-4 times a week, use a mask 1-4 times a month.

Kale is super healthy and is mild in flavor. Put kale in a blender with any fruits of your choice, coconut water and a pinch of cayenne pepper and you have a delicious healthy snack. Pictured is my favorite blender!

Don’t use your fingers to squeeze out blackheads. This can cause tiny tears in the skin and pop blood vessels. Instead use 2 Q-tips and gently press down, in and up.

Steaming your skin has many benefits. Boil some water, pour into a bowl, and hang your head over the bowl with a towel draping over your head to create a mini steam room for your face. Some times you gotta do what you gotta do when you can’t spend $100 on a facial. ;)

Before committing to a brand new skin care product, ask for a sample and use it for 1-2 weeks. In that time you will know if you really like it. Stores like Nordstrom or Sephora are always happy to give samples, you just have to ask.

Eating late at night causes redness and swelling in between the eyes. So keep the late night snacking to a minimum.

I get more questions on how to take care of oily/acne prone skin than anything else. I’m going to address all of these questions today. Or at least try. If you have more questions leave them in the comment section below. I will list my favorite products at the bottom.

In my opinion, oily skin is the hardest skin type to take care of. Most people I meet with this skin type don’t know how to take care of their skin. Let’s start with the basics. There are a few things that every skin type needs: Cleanser, Moisturizer, Eye Cream, Exfoliator, Mask.

Now, let’s just put to rest the idea of using harsh, stripping products on oily skin. Do not rub alcohol or peroxide or Cetaphil or St. Ives scrub all over your face. You want to control your oil production, not strip it all away. Oil is not your enemy, it is a necessary thing for your skin. Without it you would have alligator skin. The use of a harsh product will only make your skin produce more oil.

Here is the truth-our bodies respond to whatever we put on it or in it. When your body gets all of it’s oil stripped away it totally freaks out and thinks it’s going thru an oil drought. So what does your body do? It kicks the sebum glands into high gear and over produces oil. Then you feel way to oily, so you strip it all off. And the cycle continues… Even though you are oily you still need a moisturizer! If you don’t moisturize you will get flaky skin on top of your oily skin. Who wants that look?

The answer? You need to use products that will regulate your sebum glands so your body will produce a regular amount of oil. I’m not saying that you will go from oily skin to normal skin just by using different products. I’m saying you can get more control on your oil production and begin to even out your skin tone.

A side note- if you have acne skin be careful with exfoliators. Exfoliating too much will irritate your skin, and can spread the oil around and create more break outs. Use a cleanser with enzymes that naturally and gently exfoliates. A good one is BioElements flash foam cleanser.

What to look for when purchasing skin care products. Look for things that are labeled “oily” or “acne”. Cleansers that are clay based are great. They may not get off all your make up though. In that case use a cleanser “for all skin types”. If you are extremely oily get a moisturizer that is “oil free”. Exfoliating is very important. With oily skin, the excess oil will mix with the dead skin and settle in your pores (sorry if that is a gross image, but it’s true). Exfoliating is a key part to an even complexion, it will remove the dead skin and clean out the pores. Using a mask will be your best friend! Get a clay based mask and use it once a week. This will soak up all extra oil without drying you out or stripping your skin. An eye cream is very necessary. Even though you are oily and you may think you don’t need that heavy cream by your eyes- you do! The skin around the eye area is different from the rest of your face and it doesn’t produce oil the same. So, eye cream, eye cream, eye cream. Protect that area from wrinkles!

What products to stay away from. Anything that has alcohol in it! Many companies put alcohol in their oily/acne skin care products. It is a cheap way to mask the skin care issues. Think of products with alcohol as putting a band-aid on a broken leg. They don’t actually work!

Many people don’t want to spend the money for high end skin care products. I get it, they can get expensive. Here is how I think of it. I can spend $10 on a cleanser or moisturizer from a drug store. It is filled with ingredients that will be bad for my skin. My complexion will look blotchy and uneven every day. And the product will last me 3-4 months. Or I can spend $20-$40 on a high end cleanser or moisturizer that lasts me 6 months (you use a less amount of a high end product). The ingredients are good for my skin, and my complexion will be even and glowing. Obviously, your make-up will look better on an even, glowing complexion. The bottom line is, quality ingredients that are good for your skin can only be so cheap.

With that being said, here is a list of my favorite skin care lines and products at all price points for oily and acne skin. Some start as low as $20. Spend a few dollars more than drug store products, your skin will thank you.

This is my first time ever going to IMATS and what an experience!! I walked into it having no idea what it was going to be like. It was fun, exciting, crazy, overwhelming all wrapped into one. I had the opportunity to meet so many amazing people, see old friends, and of course- hang with my family! Meeting everyone who came out to see my sister, Jaclyn Hill, was awesome! I personally want to say thank you to everyone who came to meet her. Everyone is so sweet, amazing and beautiful! Seriously, I have never seen a crowd of more beautiful people in my life!

Even though I was there for 3 days I only had about 30 minutes to shop. What?? So I had to power shop! I was running through as many counters as I could picking up anything that looked cute. The lady behind the Smashbox counter probably thought I was such a spaz. Just as I got to her counter I looked up and lost everyone I was with. Then I heard someone say “Rachel hurry up!” even though I saw no one I recognized. I literally looked at her and said “what do I need?”. I scooped up as many products as I could and kept moving.

As always, seeing my Sigma friends is a high light! Their VIP party was so much fun! I got to meet Kandee Johnson and Camila. Both of them are so gorgeous and incredibly sweet and genuine. Also, at the party was the woman responsible for doing the make up for the Devil Baby video. On the last day I got to meet the beautiful Marlena, YouTube star and owner of Make Up Geek. Seriously, everyone is so beautiful and nice!

I had such a blast and so much fun! I’m already thinking about IMATS New York!! Here is everything I got this weekend and what I’m so excited to use!Read More